Unmutated IGHV at diagnosis in patients with early stage CLL independently predicts for shorter follow-up time to first treatment (TTFT).

The mutational status of the IGHV gene is routinely assessed in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), since it is both prognostic of clinical outcome and predictive of response to treatment. This study evaluates the IGHV mutational status, assessed in newly diagnosed CLL patients, as a stand-alone predictor of time to first treatment (TTFT). We analysed the data of 236 CLL patients, diagnosed at our centre between January 2004 and September 2020, with a minimum follow-up period of 3.0 years, Binet A-B and Rai 0-II stages. IGHV was unmutated in 38.1 % and mutated in 61.9 % of cases. The univariate analysis showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) in TTFT based on unmutated (85.2 % at 14 years, 95 % CI = 63.3-94.5 %) or mutated (41.3 % at 14 years, 95 % CI = 29.5-51.8 %) and the need for treatment at 1, 3 and 5 years was of 20.0 % vs 4.1 % (p < 0.001), 42.7 % vs 11.4 % (p < 0.001) and 55.8 % vs 20.0 % (p < 0.001) in unmutated and mutated IGHV patients, respectively. Multivariate analysis confirmed that unmutated IGHV status negatively affects TTFT (p < 0.001), in addition to high-risk genomic aberration (p = 0.025), Rai stage I (p = 0.007) and II (p-value < 0.001). The difference in TTFT based on unmutated or mutated IGHV status remains statistically significant also when considering the subgroups by the genomic aberrations and Rai stages. Our findings suggest that, with the single analysis of the IGHV mutational status at CLL diagnosis, along with clinical and laboratory data, and without karyotype and TP53 data, clinicians will have prognostic and predictive indications for the first clinical treatment and appropriate follow-up of patients.

Novel potent liposome agonists of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 phenocopy antibody treatment in cells.

The receptor Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is associated with several neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's Disease and TREM2 stimulation represents a novel therapeutic opportunity. TREM2 can be activated by antibodies targeting the stalk region, most likely through receptor dimerization. Endogenous ligands of TREM2 are suggested to be negatively charged apoptotic bodies, mimicked by phosphatidylserine incorporated in liposomes and other polyanionic molecules likely binding to TREM2 IgV fold. However, there has been much discrepancy in the literature on the nature of phospholipids (PLs) that can activate TREM2 and on the stability of the corresponding liposomes over time. We describe optimized liposomes as robust agonists selective for TREM2 over TREM1 in cellular system. The detailed structure/activity relationship studies of lipid polar heads indicate that negatively charged lipid heads are required for activity and we identified the shortest maximally active PL sidechain. Optimized liposomes are active on both TREM2 common variant and TREM2 R47H mutant. Activity and selectivity were further confirmed in different native TREM2 expressing cell types including on integrated cellular responses such as stimulation of phagocytic activity. Such tool agonists will be useful in further studies of TREM2 biology in cellular systems alongside antibodies, and in the design of small molecule synthetic TREM2 agonists.

Reporter cell assay for human CD33 validated by specific antibodies and human iPSC-derived microglia.

CD33/Sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectin 3 (SIGLEC3) is an innate immune receptor expressed on myeloid cells and mediates inhibitory signaling via tyrosine phosphatases. Variants of CD33 are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggesting that modulation of CD33 signaling might be beneficial in AD. Hence, there is an urgent need for reliable cellular CD33 reporter systems. Therefore, we generated a CD33 reporter cell line expressing a fusion protein consisting of the extracellular domain of either human full-length CD33 (CD33M) or the AD-protective variant CD33ΔE2 (D2-CD33/CD33m) linked to TYRO protein tyrosine kinase binding protein (TYROBP/DAP12) to investigate possible ligands and antibodies for modulation of CD33 signaling. Application of the CD33-specific antibodies P67.6 and 1c7/1 to the CD33M-DAP12 reporter cells resulted in increased phosphorylation of the kinase SYK, which is downstream of DAP12. CD33M-DAP12 but not CD33ΔE2-DAP12 expressing reporter cells showed increased intracellular calcium levels upon treatment with CD33 antibody P67.6 and partially for 1c7/1. Furthermore, stimulation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia with the CD33 antibodies P67.6 or 1c7/1 directly counteracted the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2)-induced phosphorylation of SYK and decreased the phagocytic uptake of bacterial particles. Thus, the developed reporter system confirmed CD33 pathway activation by CD33 antibody clones P67.6 and 1c7/1. In addition, data showed that phosphorylation of SYK by TREM2 activation and phagocytosis of bacterial particles can be directly antagonized by CD33 signaling.

The detection of circulating plasma cells may improve the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) risk stratification of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

The Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) stratifies patients affected by Multiple Myeloma (MM) into three distinct risk groups: R-ISS I [ISS Stage I, Standard-Risk cytogenetics and normal Lactase DeHydrogenase (LDH)], R-ISS III (ISS stage III and either high-risk cytogenetics or high LDH) and R-ISS II (any other characteristics). With the aim to verify whether the three R-ISS groups could be divided into subgroups with different prognostic factors based on the detection of Circulating Plasma Cells (CPCs) at diagnosis, in this retrospective analysis, we evaluated 161 patients with MM treated at our centre between 2005 and 2017. In all, 57 patients (33·9%) were staged as R-ISS III, 98 (58·3%) as R-ISS II and six (3·6%) as R-ISS I. CPCs were detected in 125 patients (74·4%), while in 43 patients (25·6%) no CPCs were seen. Our analysis revealed that Overall Survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates in R-ISS II patients were higher in the subgroup without CPCs compared to the subgroup with ≥1 CPCs (OS: 44·7% vs. 16·3%, P = 0·0089; PFS: 27·8% vs. 8·1%, P = 0·0118). Our present findings suggest that the detection of CPCs at diagnosis may be used as a further prognostic biomarker to improve the risk stratification of patients with MM staged as R-ISS II.

Parallel All-Optical Assay to Study Use-Dependent Functioning of Voltage-Gated Ion Channels in a Miniaturized Format.

Voltage-gated ion channels produce rapid transmembrane currents responsible for action potential generation and propagation at the neuronal, muscular, and cardiac levels. They represent attractive clinical targets because their altered firing frequency is often the hallmark of pathological signaling leading to several neuromuscular disorders. Therefore, a method to study their functioning upon repeated triggers at different frequencies is desired to develop new drug molecules selectively targeting pathological phenotype. Optogenetics provides powerful tools for millisecond switch of cellular excitability in contactless, physiological, and low-cost settings. Nevertheless, its application to large-scale drug-screening operations is still limited by long processing time (due to sequential well read), rigid flashing pattern, lack of online compound addition, or high consumable costs of existing methods. Here, we developed a method that enables simultaneous analysis of 384-well plates with optical pacing, fluorescence recording, and liquid injection. We used our method to deliver programmable millisecond-switched depolarization through light-activated opsin in concomitance with continuous optical recording by a fluorescent indicator. We obtained 384-well pacing of recombinant voltage-activated sodium or calcium channels, as well as induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes, in all-optical parallel settings. Furthermore, we demonstrated the use-dependent behavior of known ion channel blockers by optogenetic pacing at normal or pathological firing frequencies, obtaining very good signal reproducibility and accordance with electrophysiology data. Our method provides a novel physiological approach to study frequency-dependent drug behavior using reversible programmable triggers. The all-optical parallel settings combined with contained operational costs make our method particularly suited for large-scale drug-screening campaigns as well as cardiac liability studies.

Recognition by natural killer cells of N6-isopentenyladenosine-treated human glioma cell lines.

Cancer cell stress induced by cytotoxic agents promotes antitumor immune response. Here, we observed that N6-isopentenyladenosine (iPA), an isoprenoid modified adenosine with a well established anticancer activity, was able to induce a significant upregulation of cell surface expression of natural killer (NK) cell activating receptor NK Group 2 member D (NKG2D) ligands on glioma cells in vitro and xenografted in vivo. Specifically suboptimal doses of iPA (0.1 and 1 µM) control the selective upregulation of UL16-binding protein 2 on p53wt-expressing U343MG and that of MICA/B on p53mut-expressing U251MG cells. This event made the glioblastoma cells a potent target for NK cell-mediated recognition through a NKG2D restricted mechanism. p53 siRNA-mediated knock-down and pharmacological inhibition (pifithrin-α), profoundly prevented the iPA action in restoring the immunogenicity of U343MG cells through a mechanism that is dependent upon p53 status of malignancy. Furthermore, accordingly to the preferential recognition of senescent cells by NK cells, we found that iPA treatment was critical for glioma cells entry in premature senescence through the induction of S and G2/M phase arrest. Collectively, our results indicate that behind the well established cytotoxic and antiangiogenic effects, iPA can also display an immune-mediated antitumor activity. The indirect engagement of the innate immune system and its additional activity in primary derived patient's glioma cell model (GBM17 and GBM37), fully increase its translational relevance and led to the exploitation of the isoprenoid pathway for a valid therapeutic intervention in antiglioma research.

N6-isopentenyladenosine dual targeting of AMPK and Rab7 prenylation inhibits melanoma growth through the impairment of autophagic flux.

Targeting the autophagic process is considered a promising therapeutic strategy in cancer since a great number of tumors, including melanoma, show high basal levels of protective autophagy that contributes to tumor progression and chemoresistance. Here, exploiting both in vitro and in vivo approaches, we identified N6-isopentenyladenosine (iPA), an end product of the mevalonate pathway, as a novel autophagy inhibitor with an interesting anti-melanoma activity. iPA, after being phosphorylated by adenosine kinase into 5'-iPA-monophosphate, induces autophagosome accumulation through AMPK activation, measured by increased fluorescent GFP-LC3 puncta and enhanced conversion into the lipidated autophagosome-associated LC3-II. However, at a later stage iPA blocks the autophagic flux monitored by p62 accumulation, Luciferase reporter-based assay for LC3 turnover in living cells and fluorescence of a tandem RFP-GFP-LC3 construct. Impaired autophagic flux is due to the block of autophagosome-lysosome fusion through the defective localization and function of Rab7, whose prenylation is inhibited by iPA, resulting in a net inhibition of autophagy completion that finally leads to melanoma apoptotic cell death. AMPK silencing prevents apoptosis upon iPA treatment, whereas basal autophagosome turnover is still inhibited due to unprenylated Rab7. These results strongly support the advantage of targeting autophagy for therapeutic gain in melanoma and provide the preclinical rational to further investigate the antitumor action of iPA, able to coordinately induce autophagosome accumulation and inhibit the autophagic flux, independently targeting AMPK and Rab7 prenylation. This property may be particularly useful for the selective killing of tumors, like melanoma, that frequently develop chemotherapy resistance due to protective autophagy activation.

Three-Dimensional Control of Ion Channel Function through Optogenetics and Co-Culture.

The lack of miniaturized and cost-effective methods to control cellular excitability with dosable and temporally precise electrical perturbations represents a long-lasting and unsolved bottleneck for ion channel drug discovery pipelines. Here we developed a high-throughput-compatible fluorescent-based cellular assay that combines optogenetics and co-culture approaches to obtain spatial, temporal, and quantitative control of ion channel activity. The modularity and increased flexibility of control of this light-tandem assay, combined with contained costs and compatibility with conventional drug-screening platforms, make this system suitable for temporally precise screening of ion channel function in controlled conformations and can also be used to recapitulate other complexly regulated biological processes.

Ofatumumab plus chlorambucil as a first-line therapy in less fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: analysis of COMPLEMENT1 and other monoclonal antibodies association data.

The management of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has radically improved over the last few years with the addition of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) to chemotherapy. Chlorambucil has been considered for decades as a suitable therapeutic option for frail patients. Taking into account the advantage offered by the addition of MoAbs to chemotherapy, different studies up to now have explored the feasibility of chlorambucil-based chemoimmunotherapies in treatment-naïve CLL. COMPLEMENT1 is a prospective, randomized, open-label trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of ofatumumab added to chlorambucil, compared with chlorambucil in monotherapy, in the setting of untreated patients with CLL considered unsuitable for a fludarabine-based approach. Progression-free survival was significantly longer in the chemoimmunotherapy arm when compared with the single-agent chlorambucil (22.4 months versus 13.1 months). Response rate and quality were also improved in the combination arm. Furthermore, the addition of ofatumumab did not lead to an unmanageable toxicity. While the employment of anti-CD20 antibodies represents an advantage in the treatment of the CLL symptomatic population, at present different patient selection and treatment schedules do not allow a reliable comparison between chlorambucil-based regimens. The addition of ofatumumab to chlorambucil represents a further therapeutic gain in CLL. Longer follow up and direct comparison with other MoAbs are warranted to establish the preferred first-line treatment in elderly and unfit patients.

Paving the way for new agents; is standard chemotherapy part of the treatment paradigm for chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the future?

INTRODUCTION: First and second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors, represent a new, fully biologic and targeted approach to chronic lymphocytic leukemia and allowed to obtain high responses and acceptable tolerability even in elderly and high risk patients. On the other hand, prolonged experience with these agents has raised some questions on unexpected toxicities, response quality, treatment duration and onset of resistances. AREAS COVERED: This review analyzes the main published studies with the aim to discuss whether, in future, new agents could become a part of standard treatments or even replace the chemo-immunotherapy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Expert commentary: Despite different trials has been already published and many are still ongoing, follow up times are, at present, too short. A chemo-free approach surely represents a desirable goal for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, nevertheless longer observation is warranted to better define the correct use of targeted therapies.

Antitumor effect of pyrrolo-1,5-benzoxazepine-15 and its synergistic effect with Oxaliplatin and 5-FU in colorectal cancer cells.

Some compounds of a series of novel pyrrolo-1,5-benzoxa(thia)zepine, a well-known group of tubulin targeting agents, display anti-tumor effects mainly inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in several human cancer models. A member of this family, pyrrolo-1,5-benzoxazepine-15 (PBOX-15), has previously shown potent pro-apoptotic activity in a variety of human tumor cell types, with minimal toxicity toward normal blood and bone marrow cells. In this study, we evaluated the PBOX-15-mediated effects in human colorectal cancer cell (CRC) lines, DLD-1 and HT-29. The compound, used at concentrations equal to or greater than 1 µM, inhibited the proliferation of human CRC cells, inducing a significant cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. In DLD-1 cells, treatments prolonged over 48 h triggered a strong activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway as indicated by activation of caspase-9, caspase-3 and PARP cleavage. Moreover, nanomolar concentrations of PBOX-15, significantly improved the oxaliplatin and 5-fluouracil-induced anti-proliferative effects in DLD1 cell line. The observed synergistic interaction of both PBOX-15/Oxaliplatin and PBOX-15/5FU may involve activation of p38 MAPK and JNK pathway, which in turn significantly increased caspase-3 cleavage in DLD-1 cells, treated with PBOX-5/Oxaliplatin but not with PBOX-15/5FU. Moreover, PBOX-15/5FU-treated cells showed an increase in expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax. Taken together, these results show that PBOX-15 could represent a promising compound for the treatment of human CRC and a strong candidate for novel therapeutic options.

Clinical utility and patient considerations in the use of ofatumumab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Treatment aim for chronic lymphocytic leukemia has been radically changed over the past years from providing only a palliative approach to reaching disease eradication and improving survival. Ofatumumab is a monoclonal humanized antibody with peculiar in vitro and in vivo properties, at present approved for double fludarabine and alemtuzumab refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Its efficacy in this subset of patients, who typically have an unfavorable prognosis, facilitated its use in different Phase II and III trials. Ofatumumab as single agent or combined with chemotherapeutic or biologic agents, led to sundry results in the setting of both previously treated or untreated patients. Its role in maintenance therapy is also under investigation. Further advances concerning ofatumumab administration as first line therapy in combination with chlorambucil, came recently from the COMPLEMENT 1 study. Results from this trial will open the door to new perspectives of its use in treatment-naïve patients. Ofatumumab was well tolerated in almost all the studies, with the main adverse events relating mostly to infusion reaction. Hematologic toxicity, especially neutropenia, was also common. A significant improvement in patients' quality of life was reported following ofatumumab treatment and this was mainly due to its effect on constitutional symptoms. Nevertheless, some concerns remain regarding the long-term efficacy of the drug in terms of response duration and survival. The real strength of this drug needs to be confirmed by further studies and direct comparative trials.

Cannabinoid receptor CB1 regulates STAT3 activity and its expression dictates the responsiveness to SR141716 treatment in human glioma patients' cells.

Herein we show that a majority of human brain tumor samples and cell lines over-expressed cannabinoid receptor CB1 as compared to normal human astrocytes (NHA), while uniformly expressed low levels of CB2. This finding prompted us to investigate the therapeutic exploitation of CB1 inactivation by SR141716 treatment, with regard to its direct and indirect cell-mediated effects against gliomas. Functional studies, using U251MG glioma cells and primary tumor cell lines derived from glioma patients expressing different levels of CB1, highlighted SR141716 efficacy in inducing apoptosis via G1 phase stasis and block of TGF-ß1 secretion through a mechanism that involves STAT3 inhibition. According to the multivariate role of STAT3 in the immune escape too, interestingly SR141716 lead also to the functional and selective expression of MICA/B on the surface of responsive malignant glioma cells, but not on NHA. This makes SR141716 treated-glioma cells potent targets for allogeneic NK cell-mediated recognition through a NKG2D restricted mechanism, thus priming them for NK cell antitumor reactivity. These results indicate that CB1 and STAT3 participate in a new oncogenic network in the complex biology of glioma and their expression levels in patients dictate the efficacy of the CB1 antagonist SR141716 in multimodal glioma destruction.

Thrombosis in essential thrombocytemia and early/prefibrotic primary myelofibrosis: the role of the WHO histological diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Vascular events represent the most frequent complications of thrombocytemias. We aimed to evaluate their risk in the WHO histologic categories of Essential Thrombocytemia (ET) and early Primary Myelofibrosis (PMF). METHODS: From our clinical database of 283 thrombocytemic patients, we selected those with available bone marrow histology performed before any treatment, at or within 1 year from diagnosis, and reclassified the 131 cases as true ET or early PMF, with or without fibrosis, according to the WHO histological criteria. Vaso-occlusive events at diagnosis and in the follow-up were compared in the WHO-groups. RESULTS: Histologic review reclassified 61 cases as ET and 72 cases as early PMF (26 prefibrotic and 42 with grade 1 or 2 fibrosis). Compared to ET, early PMF showed a significant higher rate of thrombosis both in the past history (22% vs 8%) and at diagnosis (15.2% vs 1.6%), and an increased leukocyte count (8389 vs 7500/mmc). Venous thromboses (mainly atypical) were relatively more common in PMF than in ET. Patients with prefibrotic PMF, although younger, showed a significant higher 15-year risk of developing thrombosis (48% vs 16% in fibrotic PMF and 17% in ET). At multivariate analysis, age and WHO histology were both independent risk-factors for thrombosis during follow-up; patients >60 yr-old or with prefibrotic PMF showed a significantly higher risk at 20 years than patients <60 yr-old with ET or fibrotic PMF (47% vs 4%, p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Our study support the importance of WHO histologic categories in the thrombotic risk stratification of patients with thrombocytemias. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/2020211863144412 .

Anandamide drives cell cycle progression through CB1 receptors in a rat model of synchronized liver regeneration.

The endocannabinoid system, through cannabinoid receptor signaling by endocannabinoids, is involved in a wide range of functions and physiopathological conditions. To date, very little is known concerning the role of the endocannabinoids in the control and regulation of cell proliferation. An anti-proliferative action of CB1 signaling blockade in neurogenesis and angiogenesis argues in favor of proliferation-promoting functions of endocannabinoids through CB1 receptors when pro-growth signals are present. Furthermore, liver regeneration, a useful in vivo model of synchronized cell proliferation, is characterized by a peak of anandamide that elicits through CB1 receptor, the expression of critical mitosis genes. The aim of this study was to focus on the timing of endocannabinoid signaling changes during the different phases of the cell cycle, exploiting the rat liver regeneration model following partial hepatectomy, the most useful to study synchronized cell cycle in vivo. Hepatic regeneration led to increased levels of anandamide and endocannabinoid-like molecules oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, with a concomitant increase in CB1 mRNA levels, whose protein expression peaked later during the S phase. Blocking of CB1 receptor with a low dose of the selective antagonist/inverse agonist SR141716 (0.7 mg/kg/dose) affected cell cycle progression reducing the expression of PCNA, and through the inhibition of pERK and pSTAT3 pathways. These results support the notion that the signaling mediated by anandamide through CB1 receptor may be important for the entry and progression of cells into the cell cycle and hence for their proliferation under mitogenic signals.

Bendamustine and rituximab combination is safe and effective as salvage regimen in Waldenström macroglobulinemia.

According to the European Society for Medical Oncology and National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines on Waldenström macroglobulinemia, bendamustine (B) may be considered a suitable therapeutic option. To address the role of B in combination with rituximab (BR), we analyzed the outcome of 71 patients with relapsed/refractory disease, median age 72 years, treated with R 375 mg/m(2) day 1 and B days 1 and 2 (dosage ranging from 50 to 90 mg/m(2)). Patients had previously received a median number of 2 lines of treatment (range 1-5). Overall and major response rates were 80.2% and 74.6%. Major toxicity was grade 3/4 neutropenia occurring in 13% of courses. There was no significant association between baseline features or patients' characteristics and response achievement. Median progression-free survival was not reached after a median follow-up of 19 months (range 3-54). None of the patients developed aggressive lymphoma or secondary myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia. BR was found to be an active and well-tolerated salvage regimen leading to rapid disease control.

Role of intracellular and extracellular annexin A1 in migration and invasion of human pancreatic carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND: Annexin A1 (ANXA1), a 37 kDa multifunctional protein, is over-expressed in tissues from patients of pancreatic carcinoma (PC) where the protein seems to be associated with malignant transformation and poor prognosis. METHODS: The expression and localization of ANXA1 in MIA PaCa-2, PANC-1, BxPC-3 and CAPAN-2 cells were detected by Western Blotting and Immunofluorescence assay. Expression and activation of Formyl Peptide Receptors (FPRs) were shown through flow cytometry/PCR and FURA assay, respectively. To investigate the role of ANXA1 in PC cell migration and invasion, we performed in vitro wound-healing and matrigel invasion assays. RESULTS: In all the analyzed PC cell lines, a huge expression and a variable localization of ANXA1 in sub-cellular compartments were observed. We confirmed the less aggressive phenotype of BxPC-3 and CAPAN-2 compared with PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2 cells, through the evaluation of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) markers. Then, we tested MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 cell migration and invasiveness rate which was inhibited by specific ANXA1 siRNAs. Both the cell lines expressed FPR-1 and -2. Ac2-26, an ANXA1 mimetic peptide, induced intracellular calcium release, consistent with FPR activation, and significantly increased cell migration/invasion rate. Interestingly, in MIA PaCa-2 cells we found a cleaved form of ANXA1 (33 kDa) that localizes at cellular membranes and is secreted outside the cells, as confirmed by MS analysis. The importance of the secreted form of ANXA1 in cellular motility was confirmed by the administration of ANXA1 blocking antibody that inhibited migration and invasion rate in MIA PaCa-2 but not in PANC-1 cells that lack the 33 kDa ANXA1 form and show a lower degree of invasiveness. Finally, the treatment of PANC-1 cells with MIA PaCa-2 supernatants significantly increased the migration rate of these cells. CONCLUSION: This study provides new insights on the role of ANXA1 protein in PC progression. Our findings suggest that ANXA1 protein could regulate metastasis by favouring cell migration/invasion intracellularly, as cytoskeleton remodelling factor, and extracellularly like FPR ligand.

Structural evidence of N6-isopentenyladenosine as a new ligand of farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase.

N6-isopentenyladenosine (i6A), a modified nucleoside belonging to the cytokinin family, has shown in humans many biological actions, including antitumoral effects through the modulation of the farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPPS) activity. To investigate the relationship between i6A and FPPS, we undertook an inverse virtual screening computational target searching, testing i6A on a large panel of 3D protein structures involved in cancer processes. Experimentally, we performed an NMR investigation of i6A in the presence of FPPS protein. Both inverse virtual screening and saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR outcomes provided evidence of the structural interaction between i6A and FPPS, pointing to i6A as a valuable lead compound in the search of new ligands endowed with antitumoral potential and targeting FPPS protein.